The gradual resumption of liturgies within the parishes over the last few months has certainly been a cause for great joy for many Catholics. For many of the young people in my parish, they have expressed that the one time a month that they are able to come for Sunday Mass is always a source of great joy. Nothing is better than receiving the Lord sacramentally in the Eucharist.
Unfortunately, the young ones who are involved in the community do not make up the whole parish.
According to recent surveys, in most parishes across Singapore, the number of parishioners who have registered under the Archdiocese’s Portal for the purpose of booking Masses number around 50%. The number of parishioners in each parish that have actually attended a physical Mass ever since the resumption of the Masses number around 30%. Of course, this is a generalization. There are some parishes where the numbers are higher.
Many people have good reasons as to why they have yet to register to attend Mass. For many of our elderly Catholics, it is a real challenge for them to make use of technology to book for a Mass. If it’s not that, they feel that they should stay away from large gatherings, especially because they are in the vulnerable age group.
For others, they have members of their household who are in the vulnerable age group, and they feel that they should practice social responsibility. And for some, they hold jobs that expose them to the virus more than most of us, and they feel that it would be best, at least for now, to stay away from Church, so as to ensure that a cluster does not form in one of our parishes and causes the rest of us to be deprived of the sacraments once again.
These are all practical concerns, and I am in no way calling a spade on any one of them. Many of these people want to come to Church, but they know that for now, it’s best to continue with celebrating the Liturgy through a screen, out of love for their fellow brothers and sisters.
However (and I know that I am potentially going to receive a huge backlash for writing this), there are many who simply choose to be content with celebrating the Mass via Livestream or YouTube. Perhaps for some, they have simply gotten used to celebrating the Liturgy through a screen. For others, they like the convenience of the online Liturgies.
They are free to browse through YouTube to choose the shortest possible Mass, and they are free to do so at any time of the day, without the need to commute to Church. This allows them to free up their weekends for a whole lot of other things, such as watching Formula One, having small gatherings with their friends and even catching up on some well-deserved sleep.
Many people also claim that they have chosen not to return to Church for the physical celebration of the Paschal Mystery due to the higher risk of contracting the virus in a large gathering, but some of these people are also found in cafes and hawker centers, physically catching up with their friends over meals. Some of these people are even found in bars and pubs having drinks on the weekends.
I know that some of you who are reading this musing are starting to think that I’m being rather judgmental. Perhaps I am. And while I assure you, my dear reader, that I do not intend to judge the hearts of anybody by means of this post, or any of my posts for that matter, I think it’s also timely for us as Catholics to consider if we having been making God a rather small priority in our lives. And make no mistake, I too am struggling with putting God at the center of my life.
The very reason why we gather for the Eucharist physically, is for us to do what we cannot do at home. Certainly, we can pray on our own or as a family at home. But we cannot celebrate the Mystery of Christ with the Body of Christ from our homes. We cannot receive the Lord sacramentally through our screens.
We have a God who wants to be as close to us as He possibly can. He humbles Himself to be truly present in the Eucharist, the meal in which we partake and unite. The sad reality is that for many of us Catholics, we long for face-to-face contact with our friends, because let’s face it, it’s simply not the same to spend time with our loved ones over Zoom.
However, when it comes to our God, many of us seem to find content with spending time with Him over Zoom, and sharing a meal with Him over our screens. To many of us, that’s enough. We don’t see the need to have face-to-face contact with our God who loves us more than any human being possibly could. In doing so, we may not realize it, but we hurt our God who is constantly inviting us to dine with Him. It’s akin to how we would feel when we treat someone we love as a priority, when that person treats us as merely an option. It hurts.
The good news is that it’s still not too late. The difference between our God and regular human person is that our God never gives up on us. He is constantly looking out for us, reaching out to us, and His invitation to come and dine with Him over a meal is constantly being extended to us. While we are still in this life, it’s still not too late to make amends.
My dear friends, our God is waiting for us in the Sacraments. He is waiting to reconcile with us, and to dine with us. Will we accept His invitation?
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Originally published at The Barefoot Journey Home.
Photo: Annie Theby, Unsplash / PD-US
